Development and plasticity of circuits that support visual and cognitive function
Brain development unfolds in a series of overlapping events that begin in utero and continue through adolescence. While genetic programming directs the assembly of circuits that support sensory and executive function, postnatal experience is instrumental for their functional maturation. In agreement, stressful early experiences can result in sensory processing and cognitive deficits later in life. This interplay of “nature and nurture” is well studied in late postnatal development of circuits that support sensory and social function, but less is known about the top-down circuits that modulate sensory processing and mediate cognitive functions.
Drawing on our rich expertise in multiple fields (molecular biology, immunology, ecology, neurobiology, physics, etc.), our laboratory is studying the development and plasticity of prefrontal and visual circuits, aiming to uncover the mechanisms of typical and atypical development, as well as adaptive and maladaptive plasticity.
Some of the questions we are tacking are:
a. What are the earliest perinatal steps in the development of frontal brain areas?
b. How does perinatal trauma (such as preterm birth) interact with prenatal and neonatal infections in the context of brain development and the emergence of typical/atypical behaviors?
c. What types of plasticity support adult learning?
To address these (and many other!) questions, we use a variety of tools for in vivo probing of circuit function in mice: extracellular electrophysiology, EEGs, 2-photon imaging, behavioral tracking, confocal microscopy, immunohistochemistry and anatomy, chemogenetics, optogenetics, and many more.